Open Your Eyes
by Blazichu
Summary: Having convinced the Zoni to let him be, Clank sets out to rejoin his partner in crime... Can he find Ratchet before the Zoni intervene? -Post TOD, Spoilers Present, No Pairings- -Discontinued due to Blazy's noobishness-
1. This isn't Real

Hey. Guardian Angel here. This is my first R&C fic, but I've written before, so don't hold back with anything you want to say. My apologies in advance, I don't have Word on my computer, and all my attempts at Word Processing have failed miserably, because of names like "Qwark".

I don't own Ratchet and Clank, though I admire those who do; they've created a fine series.

For the record, Italics can mean one of two things, thoughts, or memories. It should be fairly obvious which is which, but if you need clarification, PM me.

Edit: Sorry for any confusion on my behalf, my computer is experiencing...technical difficulties where Fanfiction is involved...

* * *

The dimension of the Zoni was a curious thing indeed; it was neither here nor there, now nor then, and was always changing. One day it would take on the appearance of a lush forest, complete with serrateeth prowling around, the next it would be a desolate landscape, ice glistening dangerously under inviting piles of snow.

The little robot, gleaming silver in the harsh sunlight, stared blankly at today's change of scenery. He was currently sitting in the middle of a large crater, bits of metal were scattered about, glinting every now and then; the whole area was dusty brown, sometimes ranging all the way to a firey orange. It was all desert, there was a cliff towering above his current seat. He had to say, this place intrigued him. What was it called?

In the depths of his central processing unit, something screamed _'Veldin! Veldin you moron!' _at him, but he didn't mind it. That little voice had taken to adding it's commentary lately...actually, he couldn't remember a day going by where it had been silent. Had it always been like this? His mind was too foggy for him to remember, it always had been...

Itching to satisfy his curiosity, the robot noticed a series of small ledges, almost like stairs, and made his way up, climbing, walking, even levitating a bit, but he got distracted before reaching his goal.

Now who would build a house all the way out here?

Upon closer inspection, he realized that it wasn't a house, more of a garage, possibly a storage shed. Still, it seemed like a bad idea; getting up here and back to where ever with tools, or something of the like couldn't have been easy.

Darn it! Now he wanted to find out what was up with this place!

Well, he could, of course; he wasn't exactly in this dimension. Climbing rocks or taking a hike was one thing, but technically speaking, he wasn't in this world; he could just walk right through the walls...and that was exactly what he did.

It was a strange place, part of it looked like it had been blown away, at one point. You couldn't tell from the outside- whoever had repaired it had done well, in that respect- but they didn't seem to have cared that the new materials used in fixing it were easy to tell from the original parts, on the inside. The interior decorating was non-existant. There were two chairs and a television, plus a poster of someone he felt he should recognize... The image of the man in spandex looked like it had been torn down, then put back up on several occasions; and there was a box filled with heavy artillery in the corner. Several of these weapons were scattered around on the floor, along with quite a few pairs of mismatched armor. The robot decided that he liked this place... He posed the same question he'd asked himself earlier. Where was he?

_"Beats me. The ship must have run out of fuel while on autopilot."_

That was another voice that echoed in his head, from time to time. He was unsure who it had belonged to, but the feeling that it was somebody close to him was always present. It always spoke like that, too; casual, hardly ever worried. There had been one entertaining afternoon, on a busy planet full of lifeforms, where he had listened to it and the other voice having a serious discussion over...something.

_"The thrusters are fine, Clank. See?"_

_"Clank! Hit the auxilary thrusters!"_

_"Clank! Clank! Are you alright?"_

That voice was always talking about 'Clank'...But whenever the other's voice almost got to saying a name...

_"...Watch out!"_

_"...I think they followed us..." _

There was a giggle, from far across the room; the robot looked up, but relaxed when he realized that it was just one of the Zoni. "There you are, sire! Are you enjoying yourself? Gen thought you would like this planet..."

The Zoni babbled on, but the robot was able to identify him as Shi, the most childish of the three Zoni.

"-course, Mal thought it was a bad idea, but he doesn't think anything is a good idea..." Shi drawled out, finally cutting his tirade short.

There was a dull glow from behind the robot, but it only lasted for a moment.

"Sire." Mal greeted dully, taking in the decor- or there lackof- distastefully. "I don't suppose this little mudball has helped you remember your reign?"

The robot shook his head.

"I did not think it would. Gen needs to get her circuitry looked at..." He mused in his usual monotone.

That was another thing that confused the little robot. The Zoni claimed that he had once ruled over them, not in this form, but it was the same soul in his little titanium frame.

As if on cue, the third Zoni, Gen, appeared in the small...home?

"I assure you, Mal, my circuitry is perfectly functional. What do you propose we do?" She said cooly, staring the other down with unyeilding sight sensors.

"The lost one is the cause. I am sure of it." Mal declared, practically spitting the phrase lost one. "Defying one's purpose like that...it disrupts the balance of things!"

The robot blinked at that. looking around the garage again- _that_ was what they had called it! The garage!- things seemed clearer, now. He remembered the three occasions where the poster of Captain Qwark had been torn down, tacked back up grudgingly by...

_"-chet, we cannot allow it to be used even once. It is too dangerous!"_

Oblivious to their supposed king's revelation, Mal and Gen continued their heated debate; Shi floating nearby, helpless to stop them.

"That's nonsense, Mal. This has happened in the past-"

"Exactly!" Mal interrupted heatedly. "And look where that got us!"

"Our king set out to stablize things, and he suceeded. The small one's task was to see that his charge fufill's his purpose; but that was never set in stone, now was it?" Gen's reply was calm, almost as though she'd rehersed it; but Mal was having none of that.

"Gen, you fool of a Zoni! You know as well as I that the title "Lost one" was given to that creature for it to live up to!" He paused in his rant long enough to give the feminine Zoni a hard look. "You were correct about one thing, though. Our king cannot return without that thing's purpose having been filled."

_"You can't kill me, Lombax! Only I know your purpose! Only I know your true name!"_

Was title not a synonym for name? The little robot unconciously cringed at the thought. He'd never heard that voice before; it sent shivers through his frame and made him feel truly foul.

_"Behold! The last Lombax in the universe!" _

"Ratchet..."

It was merely whispered, but a sudden hush fell over the three Zoni. Mal looked looked at him crossly, like he was a child who'd just uttered a disgusting swearword. Shi cocked his head curiously, and Gen's expression was unreadible, as usual.

But finally, _Clank_ stood before the three Zoni, facing them down.

Gen turned back to Mal, "See? He must follow this through. There is no other option."

The male Zoni huffed and faded from view, but Clank was sure he'd heard "I can think of one other way..."

The remaining Zoni watched the robot carefully.

"What are your wishes, sire?" Gen asked, turning her head to survey the garage.

Clank's response was short and precise. "I would like to go back to my own dimension."

He could have sworn that the Zoni's expression lightened, but the only thing that she said was: "Very well. Shi?"

Shi nodded abruptly -as Gen disappeared as well- then turned back to Clank, cocking his head once more.

"Where do you wish to go, sire?"

"Apogee Station, in the Nundac asteroid ring."

* * *

Not terribly confident, but what do you think?

I've got this posted on my DeviantART account too, so if you see it there, don't freak out. At least, not if you're reading the work by Blazichu...


	2. Back to where we Start

Heh, thanks for the feedback, guys. I'll try to make the chapters longer, after these next two (which have already been chopped into bite-sized pieces for your reading pleasure...possibly annoyance. Sorry about that. xD). They'll probably be uploaded on the same day, if my computer doesn't have any problems with the idea. It's just hard to judge without Word, and I'm still trying to get the hang of so much text on my computer versus the length on Fanfiction. Eh, hope you enjoy what I have to offer in this (slightly shorter) chapter. ;D

Huh, still don't own anything. How amazing is that? xD

* * *

Clank landed gently on plush grass, inside the tremendous terrarium of Apogee Station, exactly where he'd departed...how long ago had it been?

In any case, there was nobody here at the moment; so that just meant that he had to hunt them down.

"Whumina- Zephyr! Did that 'repair job' of yours mess with my sight sensors again?"

...Or not. Perhaps that security system was helpful afterall...

Clank couldn't hear the response. The warbot probably wasn't too keen on holding an entire conversation over the PA system... But the next thing he heard was:

"Whippersnapper!" It was Cronk, again. "Make yer way to the comm. room! You know the way!" Shortly followed by: "Yeh blasted a hole right through it..." And then...

"The system's not off yet, yeh dern fool!' Courtacy of Zephyr.

Shaking his head wearily, Clank followed the senior bot's instructions; marveling at the scenery as he went. There hadn't been nearly enough time to admire it after the fight with Tachyon, and the only other time he'd seen it was amongst the debris and chaos that seemed to follow him everywhere...When he was with a certain Lombax, at any rate.

But the scene that greeted him upon entering the communications room was not what he'd hoped to see. Cronk still looked bewildered, Zephyr ticked off at his fellow warbot (not that that was anything out of the ordinary) and Talwyn stood in the back of the trio, arms crossed over her chest. That was the problem, trio.

Clank looked away at the glare she was giving him. "Hello..." He greeted feebily.

"Yeah. Hi." She responded shortly, but none too politely.

Had he not been composed of various metal alloys, Clank was sure he would have been blushing embarrasedly.

"I- er... do not suppose you have seen Ratchet..." He trailed off weakly.

"Oh, I've seen him." Talwyn snapped in response, brushing past her robotic guardians.

Clank looked up, confused.

"Four months ago when he said that he needed to clear his head, and that he'd be back in a week." She concluded.

"I...How long have I been gone?" The small robot asked, gaze trained on the ground.

"Six months." Cronk chimed in,

"To the day" Zephyr added idily.

"It is good to see you, though..." Talwyn's expression softened "I shouldn't have yelled. I'm just worried, you know?" She cracked a small smile. "Even these two rust buckets are."

There was a resounding "Hey!" from the two warbots.

Clank smiled back.

"If Ratchet is missing, then I will just have to find him." The little robot mused, "Do you have a ship that I might borrow?" He asked.

"Aphelion's in the hangar" Talwyn answered, taking Clank's befuddled expression into account. "Don't worry, she'll explain...you know her..." She added, rolling her eyes.

"Thank you." The titanium bot said with a slight bow of his head.

As he turned to leave, Talwyn added one last thing: "Just bring that furball back for us, alright?"

"Of course" Clank called over his shoulder.

* * *

Upon entering the hangar, Clank could just make out Aphelion's constant stream of chatter...which was more than a bit disturbing, as the ship was by herself at the moment.

"-lmost as bad as drophyds! I swear! It's like-"

And that was the end of that, as she quickly caught sight of Clank; who distantly wondered what he had just walked into.

"Oh! You're back!" Aphelion greeted cheerfully. "I'd wager that I can help you, if you're going to attempt what I think you will."

"Which would be?" Clank asked dryly; he was beginning to realize why Ratchet had decided against taking the chatty ship to...wherever.

"You're trying to find your friend, of course. He was taking off in one of those old military ships... A real pile of junk if you ask me-"

Clank was tempted to tell her that he didn't ask her, but didn't bother.

"-R.I.S was all messed up, too. Quite the species, Lombaxes, aren't they? I've heard that robotic ignition systems are quite complex..."

The little robot nearly winced at the comment; ironic really, that the ship would mention that- accidentally or not. After all, that was how he'd convinced Ratchet to go on their first mission; shortly before recieving his name...

He didn't even bother trying to listen to Aphelion as he pursued that train of thought. Hard to believe it, but he'd almost forgotten the origin of his name. All the trouble he'd gotten into right after receiving it had shoved the short conversation to the back of his mind. Nevermind his old serial number... Clank gave a slight smile. He'd return the favor, even with all that 'purpose' business floating around. He'd give 'the lost one' a new title to live up to...

"-ou listening to me?!"

Aphelion's voice jolted Clank out of his thoughts, and he grinned sheepishly at the ship.

"I am sorry; I merely became distracted."

"Robots" Aphelion huffed. "Just get in, he was headed to Solana."

Small smile etched firmly in place, Clank followed the ship's orders. It had been four months without a wisecrack about Courtney Gears or Captain Qwark, and he was ready to change that.

* * *

'M a bit concerned about Talwyn and Aphelion's characters. Talywn changed emotions so quickly... And I'm not sure that Aphelion would be a chatterbox, but it doesn't seem like too far a stretch, in my mind... Hope that didn't scare anybody off... xP

I'll try to get the next two chapters up soon. ;)


	3. Everything We Do

Did I take long enough to update? Blah. Well, this is a really short chapter, but I'm uploading it with chapter 4, so hopefully that'll make it worthwhile. On an unrelated topic: I don't own anyone here.

* * *

As the pair approached Metropolis, Clank couldn't say that he had high hopes. Naturally, Veldin had been the first place they'd checked, but closest they'd gotten to a familiar face was...the opposite end of a certain maintenance worker, and while it wasn't completely surprising, the run in didn't give them any leads. The Phoenix hadn't yeilded any results, either, Al had been left in charge while the captain was away, and _he _hadn't heard anything since before the whole Tachyon fiasco.

There _had_ been Blackwater City, where a channel 64 news report had interupted an interview with Captain Qwark and his newest- or rather, what could have been his newest- endorsement deal, focusing on why he had refused the offer. As it turned out, the deal had been for a very familiar toy. Quoth Darla Gratch: "The battle Ratchet has become the new protopet, so why don't you want to cache in on this golden oppertunity, Captain Qwark?" The superhero had been spared before answering though, because of a special report about space pirates on Kalebo III.

Clank was beginning to think they should have investigated that, as opposed to returning to Metropolis. But none the less, here they were. Right where this whole mess started. That wasn't an exaggeration, either; Aphelion had landed on the very platform where he and Ratchet had met Tachyon...

_"Tch. Your name's Percival?"_

Clank shook his head to dispell the memory and continued on his way to the Roboshack, via pedway (as opposed to the more dangerous Grav-train rails). He didn't get far though- not even past the Planetary Defense Center- before running into one of the last people he'd have expected.

Sasha scowled upon noticing Clank; and he just figured it was the same situation with Talwyn all over again.

Boy was he wrong.

"Has that furball sent you to see what kind of damage he's caused?" She asked, hands on her hips.

At a later date, Clank wouldn't be one-hundred percent certain, but would be fairly sure that his response to this was "Er...excuse me?"

The Cazar glared back at him, none too impressed, but the intensity of the gaze had deminished- like she was second guessing herself. "Like I wouldn't hear reports of a _lombax_ throwing Fusion Grenades all across Metropolis. I _am_ the mayor, you know."

"Sasha..." Clank began uneasily; a bit worried by the fact that their friend was blaming them for Tachyon's actions. "The only thing that brought me here was my search for Ratchet... He has been missing for months now." As he said this, Sasha's expression changed, she looked worried...before reassuming her previous grim expression.

"He still destroyed half of Metropolis. Do you _know _how much trouble you two have caused? And if I _ever_ see another episode of _Big Al's Bot Wars_..." She trailed off leaving the statement hanging on a vaguely disturbing note.

Clank shook his head sadly, and turned away from the mayor, ready to set off with Aphelion once more- clue or no clue- in his mind, there wasn't time for this. "I cannot explain at the moment. Perhaps I can return later, but right now I am on a mission."

And with that, the robot headed back from wence he came, leaving a stunned Cazar in his wake.

"Clank!" Sasha called after a moment's hesitation. The robot stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around. "I'm...willing to hear your guys' side of the story. To be honest, I wasn't sold on this...explanation. But...if you need some help, give me a call, alright? I can't make any promises, but we can't really hear what the two of you have to say when your missing Ratchet..."

Clank finally turned around, and gave a small smile. "Thank you...mayor." And he was off once more.

Aphelion was surprised to see him back so quickly, but decided not to say anything as he set their course.

"We're headed to Kalebo III, there have been rumors of space pirates there. It is not too far from Veldin, so there is always the threat of pillaging..."

As was the case earlier: Clank couldn't say he had high hopes.

* * *

I must apologize to anyone who's reading this on Deviantart, too. As I reread the chapters, the mistakes jump out at me more readily, and I'm still trying to get the various characters right. One would notice this chapter in particular being VERY different from the original. I felt that I did Sasha a great wrong in the original. Blame _The Search for Clank_ it's making Sasha and Talwyn grow on me...


	4. This isn't You

Heh, here's one of the more interesting chapters, in my own opinion. From this point on, I'll be trying to make them longer. Hope you guys enjoy. ;D

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. (Too lazy to be more specific)

* * *

"I'm picking up a pirate vessel within-" Aphelion's warning was cut off by the very subject she was attempting to talk _about_.

"Yarr!" _Hic!_ Clank was not at all surprised when the image of a very familiar pirate appeared on the holo-screen; the sighting was exactly what had drawn him here, after all.

That didn't mean that he wanted to meet up with the bucaneers, though.

"Surrender your vessel or be-" Rusty Pete tilted his head to the side and squinted, before abandoning the piratical threat. "Oh, it be you, little one..." He substituted, sounding rather dejected; so it was rather unnerving when his whole demenor brightened up.

"You will not be letting us go, will you?" Clank asked, not really expecting an affirmative.

Pete didn't dissappoint, as he crushed that hope with a cheerful: "Nome! Yer tuh board the ship; Cap'n'll be wantin' tuh talk tuh ya."

Clank sighed, but obliged, Aphelion landing on the large deck of this peculiar ship. Rusty Pete was waiting there, arms crossed over his chest, tapping his foot impatiently.

"CAP'N!" Several loud crashes followed the call, accompanied by light footfalls.

"Oi! Cap'n! You'll ne'er guess who we-" _Hic!_ "foun'!"

An exasperated voice answered, from far to the left. "Sorry Pete, I was chasing Willy away from the supply cupboard." There was a short pause, leaving Clank stunned, while the captain presumably replayed Pete's call in his mind.

"Pete..." he began angrily. "You've been hitting the grog again, haven't you?"

Finally, the two robots turned to the source of the voice; Clank barely heard Pete's upbeat "Yessum, cap'n!" as he stared.

Of all the places to find the lombax, why was Ratchet _here_? And to think, he'd been searching half way across the Solana galaxy, only to find the his companion by accident... Sure, he was dressed a bit oddly; dark pants, a white longsleve shirt, and a blue vest, aviator's cap replaced by a visor-less helmet, but there was no mistaking the him...

Though it was a bit distressing that said lombax had yet to say anything to him...

Ratchet glanced at the smaller bot, then crossed his arms over his chest, giving Pete a dry look.

"You're right, Pete. I _won't_ ever guess." He said, too pleasantly for the conversation to end well. "Now _who in the name of blarg is he?_"

Pete glanced, sympathetically, at Ratchet. "Still nothin' eh Cap'n? Ah well, we'll figure somethin' out..."

Hesitantly, Clank spoke up. "I...do not understand. What is going on here?" Even as he asked, something in the back of his CPU clicked.

_"I suppose now that you're our new cap'n you'll be needin' one of them gimmicky pirate names...'The Dread Pirate Ratchet', perhaps?" _

_"Woah, _I'm_ your new captain?"_

_"Aye. 'Tis the code, sir."_

Ratchet shrugged, not bothering to unfold his arms. "The crew found me back on Hoven a couple months ago. Couldn't remember anything, but they knew me; said I was their captain, at any rate." He nodded his head in Pete's direction. The pirate didn't seem to notice though, his thoughts were probably elsewhere. "Pete here's been trying to help me remember things properly. Needless to say, it hasn't worked."

Clank nodded absently, mind still racing. It got to the point where he almost missed the "I suppose I knew you?" from the lombax.

"Yes...we were friends..." He replied, not yet totally with it, but he _was_ able to catch the nearly inaudible: "I...hate to ask..."

Curious, the robot looked up at his friend.

"Could you...help me out?" Ratchet asked, clearly embarrassed by asking something like that.

Though he had not been expecting something of this sort from the ever prideful lombax, Clank wasn't about to turn him down.

"Of course" He replied, smiling slightly, "Could you take me to your communications room?"

Ratchet nodded, leading the way through a labrynith of- what looked like- wooden cabins. Like the type that those prehistoric pirates used to use when they were confined to their own planets. In fact, the entire ship looked like...a ship. A straight-from-the-water ship. It was either a stroke of genius or insanity; and with the inventor of 'Stunderwear' as the captain of this ship (and having been preceded by a psychotic grog-swilling robot), Clank couldn't be sure which.

"Sooo..." The lombax stalled for a moment, before getting to the point. "I know this is gonna be weird but...what's your name?"

The robot smiled. "You once dubbed me 'Clank'. I cannot remember my serial number because I have always gone by the name you gave me." The way he said it, he sounded proud of the fact, puzzling Ratchet, but the lombax decided to roll with it.

They passed acouple more cabins in silence.

"...'Clank', huh?"

* * *

Several moments later, Pete found himself quite alone on the deck. Why was he here, again? What was he doing? And- most importantly- where was the grog?

* * *

Epic end to the chapter, huh? It just struck me as very Pete-like. Dunno why, I just love Rusty Pete's character.

Hope you enjoyed it- I'll try to get number five up soon!


	5. I'm Not Quite Myself

Heh, I'm getting better at updating in a timely manner... And I must thank everyone who's reviewed so far, you've taught me to love smaller fandom sections! I get actual feedback! Unfortunately, I'm a terrible pretend-cook...so accept a digital cookie if you dare. ;D

Disclaimer: Insomniac owns the characters, places...I think (almost) everything here. Willy's design, however, came from the deathtrap that is my mind.

* * *

The communications room was...not what Clank had expected, to say the least. Monitors of various sizes and shape covered the walls, a bit like a mismatched IRIS, the largest of which was connected to the comm. unit. Various scenes played over the others, most showing the dull brown of the ship or pirates, which meant they were probably just security cameras. Some...Clank wasn't so sure about, to put it simply... Behind the him, Ratchet groaned and muttered something indistinguishable. The only words that the robot could make out were 'idiots' and 'grog'...neither of which was too surprising given the circumstance, but still, he asked what the complaint was about.

"Just the usual," came a moan masquerading as an answer. "my crew's getting into the grog...again."

Puzzled, the only thing Clank could think to say was "You do not allow them to consume alcohol?"

"Are you kidding?" The lombax turned away from the screen, setting the comm unit up as he spoke. "There's no keeping these idiots away from the stuff! I swear, if there was any _real_ trouble, I'd be the only one sober enough to handle it!"

With a bit of vague muttering about 'how they can stand the stuff...'' and 'how can robots get drunk, anyway?' he finally backed up, allowing Clank to dial the intergalactic communications number. The dark screen flickered as a link to the Phoenix was established, and Al's image appeared on said monitor.

"Oh, uh, hey Clank." The cyborg was clearly distracted by something in the background. It probably had to do with the suspiciously cyclo-simian-like noises coming from the distance... "Sorry, Qwark just got back from his press-conference... and he brought Skrunch..."

"Ah." The robot winced, he truly felt for the temporary captain of the Phoenix. "Well, I have...news..."

Did this count as good news or bad news? He was rather unsure of that himself...

Al said nothing, merely glancing over his shoulder before turning back to the screen. Clank took it as a cue to go on.

"I have found Ratchet," Al brightened at this, it was short lived though. "but he believes himself to be captain-"

From off to the side, the object of the conversation interupted with an indignant "I _am_ captain!"

"-of the inter-galactic space pirates..."

On the other side of the line, Al shook his head wearily. "Amnesia _again?_ Well, at least there aren't any Floranian Cyclo-monkeys involved this time..." The cyborg sighed. "Bring him back to the Phoenix. Maybe vid-comics will be the answer..."

"Al, do you seriously believe that something that worked on Captain Qwark will be the solution to this problem?"

The technology specialist shrugged. "Not really, but I'm fresh out of ideas."

From somewhere in the background, the three could hear "Hey Skidd! Have I shown you my sonic-sheep-suck-cannon?" from a distinctly Qwark-like source. An awkward silence filled the two rooms, followed by a rather distressing noise...something along the lines of "Baah-schwump", and finally: "I thought we left the sheepinator on Veldin..."

The only response to this was "You did"

Again, the conversation came to a halt; and resparked by a disbelieving lombax.

"Okay, what kind of _idiot_ mixes transmorphing technology with a suck canon?

Al stared, "You know, I don't think vid-comics will fix this..." He said, sighing again.

Clank opened his mouth to reply, but...

_"Ninety-nine bottles o' grog in me tum, ninety-nine bottles o' grog! I'll have just one more, then I'll chuck on the floor! Ninety-eight bottles o' grog in my tum! Ninety-eight bottles-"_

But the unmistakable sound of grog-influenced pirates interrupted. Ratchet groaned, hand covering his face and ears flattened, as if to block the screeching out.

"Yeah, sure. We'll meet you...wherever." The lombax snapped, using the communications number to set the autopiolet, "But I have some pirates to throttle in the meantime." With that, he spun on his heel and stalked away from the commincations unit.  
"You were serious about the space pirate thing, then?"

Clank nodded, "I must keep an eye on him. We will see you in a little while." He said, hastily following the enraged captain out of the room.

* * *

The pair made it to the main deck just in time to hear _"Ninety-two bottles o' grog!"_ more clearly than they ever wanted to.

lank was sure that it would be impossible for Ratchet to get their attention; even having been exposed to explosions at close-range, the little robot was quite certain that he'd never heard anything quite as deafening as this...

Hence his confusion at the course of action his best friend took.

"Having fun boys?" The lombax practically whispered; the tone of his voice sounded almost...deadly.

"Yessum, Cap'n!"

..._almost_.

"Guys," He groaned, "At this rate you'll have the authorities from _Polaris_ on our case."

There was some drunken muttering among the crowd, with one white and blue robot seeing fit to whine "But caaaaaap'n!"

Ratchet's hand found it's way up to his face, again, covering his eyes as if he were suffering from a headache. Instantly, the robot who had complained was at the lombax's side. Said lombax ignored the action.

"Listen up!" He called; the crew's attention snapped back to him. "We're going to delay our- ahem- _visit_ to Novalis, and- Willy! _Knock it off!_"

The blue and white robot- Willy apparently- had been tugging on Ratchet's arm, urging him head back in the direction he and Clank had come from.

"Sorry, captain; but if you have another headache, then you need to go back to your cabin...You know what happened last time..." Willy said. He spoke without slurring, unlike the other pirates, and Clank was sure he'd heard the accent somewhere before, but Willy could have just been an older- or possibly foreign- model.

Ratchet's hand was back at his side in an instant, as if the contact between fur and glove had scalded him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replied much too pleasantly.

It certainly didn't fool Clank; what surprised him was that the bigger bot narrowed his single eye sensor, picked the lombax up and slung him over a narrow shoulder... _without_ getting blasted to a smoldering pile of slag.

Ratchet sighed, as the robot set off in the direction they'd just come from, leaning his hand against his cheek as he called back to the assembled crew.

"We'll be back on course soon. Nothing can slow us down, right?"

Nobody paid attention to the irritated "Well, not counting grog..." that followed.

To Willy- in the very same irritated tone- he added "I can walk on my own, you know."

With this odd little interaction having been completed, the pirates went back about their business. This consisted mainly of climbing to the top of the crow's nest (and then falling out because they couldn't stand up straight), getting into supply closets, picking up on _"Ninety-one bottles 'o grog"_, and what looked like a very sloppy ballroom dance...

Taking note of this with a critical eye, Pete spoke up from beside Clank. "We should'a stuck tuh the needle torture. Dragonian, you know?" He asked, as though making polite conversation. "Th'se guys sure know how tuh stick a needle. They're great at 'mbroidery, too..." The one sided conversation went on for a little while, and the only thing Clank really heard was some comment or other about yakkow yarn, which was really more than he ever wanted to know...

"Tha' was Willy." Pete said out of nowhere, gesturing in the general direction the white and blue robot had disappeared into, along with his perturbed luggage. "We picked 'im up on Cobalia...long time 'go. 'Parently 'e used to be part of a three piece set an' got sep'rated from his group. Never came back fer 'im, the dirty swabs. Broke ol' Willy's heart, it did." The first mate chuckled, Clank's gaze prompting him to go on. "When 'e foun' out tha' the cap'n's memory was blank, he kinda...'dopted 'im. Bit o're protective, innit 'e?"

Clank nodded, expecting the pirate to say more, but it never came. Instead- his moment of sobriety having been spent- Pete wandered over toward the crow's nest, where his crewmates were still dropping from the sky like lemmings. So, with nothing more to do, the little titanium robot made his way back to the communications room, planning on contacting Apogee Station if he could.

When he got there, it was rather surprising to find Willy struggling with the doorknob and attempting to keep smirking lombax slung over his shoulder at the same time. Ratchet was clearly trying to make things difficult, shifting his position ever so slightly just when the android was about to get the door open. On the other hand, Clank could see where Willy wouldn't want to put him down. As the lombax had so politely pointed out earlier, he could walk; which also meant that he could run away.  
Clank chuckled, the conversation he'd just had with Pete still fresh in his mind. He knew what it was like, having been responsible for the unruly lombax for the greater part of...four years now? ...Yes...it had, in fact been four years since that fateful "Interesting". Curious, it didn't feel like it had been that long... Snapping back to reality, Clank realized that Ratchet was watching him out of the corner of his eye, obviously wondering whether or not he was about to help (the still completely focused) Willy. With an apologetic smile, the small robot reached out and opened the door, much to the lone organic's disappointment.

"Thanks, little one." Willy chirped as he made a beeline toward the far corner of the room, where a hammock was set up, amongst one or two other items. Funny, he hadn't noticed that before.

"It is no problem." Clank quietly replied, ignoring the muffled "Traitor..." coming from Ratchet.

Not wishing to be impolite (precursors forbid rudeness on a pirate ship), the mech asked permission to use the comm. unit again. The answer was rather entertaining, if not reminiscent of other conversations they'd had.

"No" Answered one miffed lombax, clearly attempting to exact revenge upon the one who had betrayed him. Exasperated, Willy smacked him on the shoulder, and he revised his earlier answer to one that wasn't as likely to earn him another swat.

Chuckling quietly, Clank dialed a comm. number for the second time that day (while being careful not to tamper with the autopiolet's established coordinates), and waited as Talwyn's likeness appeared onscreen, apparently having been interrupted whilst yelling something at Cronk and Zephyr.

"-onk! Stop messing with that! _Yes,_ I _know_ it's broken, but it's an unstable wormhole device, so knock it off. Ze- Oh, hey Clank..."

The little robot could have rolled his eyes at the warning, but went about business as...normal? "I am sorry, Miss Talwyn, am I interrupting something?"

Talwyn groaned and gestured over her shoulder. "Just the usual insanity, here at Apogee Station...and quit it with that 'Miss Talwyn' stuff, I get that enough from versions 1.0 over there."

On the side, Ratchet and Willy watched curiously; the mech's eye sensor widened considerably. "Blimey..." He breathed, inching toward the screen, unwittingly dragging the lombax with him.

Oblivious to this, the conversation went on.

"I believe I have good news...and...well... not _bad_ news, but..." Clank finally said. The humanoid gave him a look, silently telling him to go on. "I have located Ratchet-" Like Al, her relief was evident on her face, but Clank didn't pause in his could-be report. "He is currently acting as captain for the space pirates."

As opposed to Al, however, the confusion was much more pronounced on Talwyn's visage. She knew their past with the pirates, after all. There was something she didn't know, though... "Um...yes. In defeating the former captain Slag, Ratchet inadvertantly became the crew's new captain..."

Talwyn gave him a skeptical look. "And he accepted?"

"I am...unsure." Was the only answer she got...and apparently it wasn't enough.

"How can you not be- ...is there someone with you?" Taken off guard by the change of topic, Clank glanced around, gaze immediately falling on Willy...and Ratchet who had pried his hand loose from the vice-like grip of a robot, and was currently giving him a dirty look.

A bit puzzled by his new acquaintance's action, Clank nodded slowly. "Er...yes. Ratchet is right here...and this is-"

"Willy?"

"Miss?"

"Huh?"

The last was spoken by both Ratchet _and_ Clank, who were suddenly under the impression that they were intruding on something.

"But...Cronk and Zephyr...they said that you..." Talwyn seemed completely bewildered, but Willy looked relatively calm. In fact, Clank could have sworn he heard the older bot _coo_ "Miss..."

The tranquil expression was shattered soon enough, as two familiar voices called out from the background of the other line. Wisely, Ratchet grabbed Clank's hand and made a hasty retreat, offering only "Uh...yeah. We're just gonna go and...uh...go..." as his exuse. Fortunately nobody seemed to notice.

* * *

Their scramble for freedom led the two to the ship's railing. Ratchet leaned up against it, fiddling with the omniwrench while Clank gazed through the barrier that made the ship's artificial atmosphere a possibility- up at the planet that currently hung above them. Veldin.

Having taken notice of the unusual silence, the lombax glanced at the robot and followed his gaze to the planet. They had yet to visit that one. It was just some little back-water planet, after all: boring, normal, a danger magnet. He blinked... where had that come from?

"That is planet Veldin, your homeworld" Clank spoke softly, and -despite having 'just met' the robot- it struck him as odd, that he should be talking to _him_ like that. Wasn't that tone reserved for muttering about the Z...no, that couldn't be right...

In the shadow cast by a nearby cabin, azure eyes narrowed and- for no more than a second- glowed brightly.

In that same instant, the omniwrench clattered to the ground, it's owner having dropped it as he supported the whole of his weight on the railing before him.

They had forgotten about his headache, and he knew what came next...

Alarmed, Clank stared at the tool for a moment before his gaze turned to it's wielder. "Ratchet?"

The call went unheard, despite the fact that they were less than two cubits apart.

"Ratchet! What is the matter?"

The lombax shook his head and turned, sliding down so his back was against the railing. His head too was tilted back, resting against the wood; though both gloved hands were covering his eyes, pressed against his forehead.

"Headache..." He muttered, "It'll pass...it'll pass"

"Perhaps I should find Pete..." Clank said, placing one hand on the organic's shoulder in-what was supposed to be- a comforting gesture.

"Why?" Ratchet snarled out of nowhere, pushing the robot away. "Because your imaginary friends said so?"

A moment of confused silence (on Clank's part, anyway) passed, before: "You know," He began again, this time quieter- his ears drooping just a bit. "Just once, I wish you'd listen to your _real_ friends instead of..."

Clank grabbed onto one of his arms and took a good look at the lombax- his normally keen green eyes were unfocused, void of the mischief they usually held. Was this 'What happened last time'?

...He was muttering something again, ears almost perpendicular to the floor. Whatever he was reciting, it couldn't be positive...and Clank almost didn't want to know what it would be, based on the last two recollections. "...where...where did they go? Wh-why did they leave me behind?"

And with several more whispered words- all but one indistinguishable- he went quiet again.

Several questions flitted through Clank's CPU at that point.

_Did he remember...?_

_Why that of all things...?_

_Is this what Willy meant by 'What happened last time'...?_

_'Azimuth'...?_

* * *

Is the length satisfying? I apologize for any errors, I resorted to using an online spellcheck, but I noticed that it wasn't exactly...reliable. I'll be able to get my hands on a decent word processor soon. :D

And Willy... He was one of the first characters I was aware of (even though he wasn't included in TOD) because at the time, I was relying solely on the internet for any info on the game. It was Wikipedia that mentioned him, and I just fell in love with the concept... Don't worry, he isn't too big a part in the story. I wouldn't take the glory away from Pete- I mean Clank. xD

One more note before I leave you hanging for now. You may note slight (maybe more) OOC-ness on Ratchet's part. My excuse is that he has amnesia, so he isn't _exactly_ Ratchet right now... (Take a look at the chapter's title. ;D)


End file.
